The Pitcher: Brandon McCarthy
With Kenta Maeda and Hyun-Ji Ryu not off to career-defining starts, McCarthy is more than likely going to be the pitcher the Phillies are looking to beat this weekend. They will face him on Saturday night. And McCarthy is off to a very nice start in 2017.
He is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 22 strikeouts over 24 innings. He has yet to give up more than two earned runs in starts against the division-leading Diamondbacks on two occasions and the defending World Champion Chicago Cubs.
He has only had two starts against the Phillies over the course of his 11-year career. The numbers are skewed as a result. Instead, let’s focus on his numbers in Dodger Stadium, which includes a 2.80 ERA, a .237 batting average against, and a 5-1 record.
McCarthy has added a changeup to his repertoire in 2017 and it seems to have made a significant difference in his success. As long as he stays healthy, his five-pitch arsenal could be a major piece to the success of the Dodgers this season.
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The Phillies will have to find a way to get to his fastball early in counts. They have done an incredible job of working into fastball counts over the last week, so if they can continue that trend against McCarthy who is not necessarily a hard thrower (he mostly sits in the low to mid-90s), they should be able to scratch out a victory.